Before MTV sold its soul for trashy reality television and awards shows populated with twerking young stars, it showed actual music videos, stood for everything the mainstream wasn’t, and aired content that was both entertaining and creative. MTV was one big middle finger, sticking it to “The Man” every chance it got, but that era is now long gone, and one I unfortunately never got to fully experience.
So many shows have been overshadowed by angry guidos and bitchy celebrities, one of those shows being the sketch comedy half-hour spectacular known as The State, which spawned the comedic careers of so many familiar faces. From Reno 911! creators Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, to Stella members Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain, to funnyman Ken Marino, it’s a blast from the past definitely worth your time (assuming you haven’t discovered it already).
But since the series ended in 1995, the troupe parted ways, collaborating on projects with one another whenever possible, but never returning to re-form “The State” once again.
Sure, a reunion has always been teased, and it’s something fans are really hoping for, but there really haven’t been any official plans. When talking to Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon about their new film Hell Baby though, the duo dropped some news hinting that Ken Marino may have found a way to get the gang back together.
As per Lennon and Garant:
Thomas Lennon: You know, I don’t know if we’ll ever do another Reno 911!…
Robert Ben Garant: But, Ken Marino has cracked a The State thing. Like, he’s finally figured out a way that The State might be able to do something together.
Thomas Lennon: This is real news. This is not a joke.
Robert Ben Garant: Ken Marino pitched us all a version of The State that we might actually be able to do, and everyone said yes.
We Got This Covered: As a film?
Robert Ben Garant: We’ll see. Let’s see how it happens first.
Thomas Lennon: A The State thing is more plausible than it’s ever been.
Robert Ben Garant: It’s everybody. If we do it, it’ll be available, and watchable, and it might actually happen.
Sure, they can’t commit to anything 100%, because as Lennon mentioned earlier in our interview, a project can go dead at any time, but the two seemed rather enthusiastic when telling me this news. Hell, they even call it news themselves, isn’t that enough to catch people’s attention?
The only thing that has me more excited now is the fact that everyone appears to be on board, according to Lennon and Garant, and that Ken Marino has an idea good enough to get everyone interested. Since they split up, most actors/actresses have gone on to establish themselves as separate acts, so it would be extremely intriguing to see them all back together after finding success elsewhere.
Who knows though, without an official announcement, we’ll still have to take this news with a grain of salt, no matter how bad we want to see The State once again. Will it be a film? TV special? Internet thing? Maybe a Netflix exclusive? We simply don’t have the answers as of yet, but if those details do break, you better believe we’ll let you know.
So, are there any fans of The State out there that just got a little too excited on a weeknight with this news?
